Lifting lid on Labor's weak spots

The Bracks Government is finding promises easier than projects, reports Richard Baker.

The Bracks Government is keen to let Victorians know it is "getting on with the job" - so much so that the phrase has become its second-term slogan. Unfortunately for the Government, some jobs seem to be taking longer and costing more than planned.

Put simply, major projects are proving to be a major pain. The regional fast-rail project has started late and required a $61 million top-up; the bill for the yet to be completed Federation Square is hurtling towards $500 million; work on the Commonwealth Games village is months behind schedule; doubts remain over the real value of the synchrotron; the Spencer Street station redevelopment has been scaled back; and the Docklands film and television studio continues to attract controversy.

Labor MPs are concerned the Government is being viewed as a good starter of projects but a poor finisher. Some that have been completed are the legacy of the former Kennett government.

Says one senior MP: "We create a rod for our own backs. We go out and say we can do more and deliver faster, without taking into account the variables and constraints."

Senior ministers regularly point out that $2 billion of projects are in the pipeline. There have been some successes, such as the Hallam bypass in Melbourne's outer east, which was completed $10 million under budget and 17 months ahead of expectations.

Premier Steve Bracks believes the Government's track record on major projects is excellent.

"If you look across the whole of Government, we're doing extremely well," he told The Age this week. "The Austin Hospital, schools . . . Berwick Hospital. You can go through hospitals and schools. The studio . . . it's going well, it's near completion."

But a series of Auditor-General reports tabled in Parliament this year paint a different picture. Auditor-General Wayne Cameron found Federation Square was likely to cost $487.1 million - more than four times the initial estimate of $110 million.

Cameron also warned the regional fast-rail links to Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Traralgon could fail to meet revised budgets and timelines. Already, completion times for two of the lines have blown out and the total cost of the project has risen by $61 million.

Two of the Government's most contentious projects have been the $110 million film and television studio at Docklands and a $200 million piece of scientific equipment known as the synchrotron.

Since signing the studio contracts - months later than expected - with Central City Studio Holdings last year, the Government has been on the defensive. It has refused to process a host of freedom of information requests about the project. A report by Cameron earlier this year found Central City had received preferential treatment from the Government during the bid process and raised doubts about the probity of the tender process. The Government has also had to tip in an extra $6 million above the $40 million it pledged to the project and no film-making work has yet been announced.

No delays have yet to be experienced with the synchrotron, which accelerates electrons to form beams of light used by scientists for medical and other research purposes. The Government claims it will put Victoria at the forefront of scientific research in the southern hemisphere. But other states appear reluctant to heed the Government's call for funding assistance after Victoria short-circuited a national selection process by announcing it would build the synchrotron on its own. After initially committing $100 million to the project, the Government provided an additional $57 million after much-hoped-for private-sector interest failed to eventuate.

Describing projects as the "Achilles heel" of Labor, Opposition major projects spokesman Phil Honeywood believes Victorians have been misled over the true costs of the synchrotron. He recently told Parliament a business plan written for the project in August last year showed taxpayers could pay up to $537.2 million to support the synchrotron over the next decade. But Bracks said the business plan was outdated and the Government expected to spend only the $157 million committed.

Victoria's business community regards Labor's major projects record as mixed.

Australian Industry Group director Timothy Piper says some of Labor's difficulties stemmed from the reluctance of the private sector to get involved in projects where the benefits were unclear.

Involvement with the private sector through the Partnerships Victoria policy has also caused heated debate within Labor ranks. Critics believe the policy-which allows the private sector to fund, build and sometimes operate public infrastructure - to be privatisation by stealth.